The cause of both bubbles is government intervention. At the point the housing bubble burst, one could not afford to buy a house, but the loans one could take out to make the attempt were plentiful. Ditto for college expenses. The government makes loans and grants available, and the market (the colleges) adjust their rates to take advantage of the new money.

The medicine is bitter to swallow, and, if we couldn’t do it with the housing bubble (Freddie and Fannie are still in operation and still unregulated), what makes you think we’ll see the light with respect to the college bubble?